2012 MLB Thread (Cabrera Gets Triple Crown, first since Yaz 1967)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cartman

Evidently they don't have all of the kinks worked out in cooking them yet. They are pretty much cook to order, since they don't really have space to keep a few ready to go.

Plus if I'm paying $26 for a hot dog, I'm probably going to want it to be reasonable fresh.

[jbergey22]

$26 Hot dog! Texas Rangers to serve 2-foot, 1-pound wiener | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports

A lot of hot dog for one person.

[Scoobz0202]

Yea, I don't want to be "that guy" that says fuck the numbers, but that just seems... weird. I mean, last year he was a human highlight reel.

I have said before that I have little grasp of defensive stats, though.

EDIT: Maybe I need to see the numbers compared to other 2B.

[Chief Rum]

Honestly, it's not about the spectacular plays, it's about the routine ones, which are far more common and also often far more costly when flubbed than they should have been.

I don't know anything about Phillips or Kinsler's defense, BTW, just making a general comment.

[Scoobz0202]

Oh Dusty, Dusty, Dusty...


Willie Harris hitting lead off.

[cougarfreak]

Damn........Rolen can still play some serious D.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Oh Dusty, Dusty, Dusty...


Willie Harris hitting lead off.

I feel for you guys; really. Dusty must work wonders in the clubhouse, because I worry about any pitcher whose arm he comes near, or his lineup predilection for veteran after veteran.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Willie Harris hitting lead off.

My first thought was roughly "hasn't he been a leadoff hitter most of his career?" so I go look it up.

Sure enough, that's far & away (1151 PA) his most common spot in the batting order during his career, no other spot has more than 411 PA.

Yeah, he's past his prime. Yeah, he's put up some ugly numbers a few times & not many really pretty ones but last year was the second highest OBP of his career (only 2009 in WSH was better).

Point being, this may not be a case of Dusty being Dusty, pretty much every manager that's had Harris in the lineup tends to hit him leadoff more often than not.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Yea, I don't want to be "that guy" that says fuck the numbers, but that just seems... weird. I mean, last year he was a human highlight reel.

I have said before that I have little grasp of defensive stats, though.

EDIT: Maybe I need to see the numbers compared to other 2B.

I will be that guy. "Fuck the numbers." I don't put much stock in the advanced defensive stats.

Maybe one year too many, but I'm pleased with the Phillips signing.

[Big Fo]

It's good to have Chipper back.

[MizzouRah]

There is a reason I picked David Freese on my fantasy baseball team!

[tarcone]

Showing the Central whose division it is.

[Scoobz0202]

It's April 10th

[Butter]

Yes, the team .317 average and sub 3.00 ERA are totally sustainable for the season. They'll be back to the crowd, sooner or later. Way too early to gloat or panic.

But I'll be back to gloat when the Reds pass the Cards later in the season, since you seem to enjoy it so much.

[tarcone]

I know, I know. But 2 of 3 in Milwaukee and 2 of 3 or a sweep in Cincinnati (Where we played terrible last season), is a good sign.

[cartman]

Napoli just got drilled in the head by a fastball, but looks to be ok. It looked scary as it happened.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Yes, the team .317 average and sub 3.00 ERA are totally sustainable for the season. They'll be back to the crowd, sooner or later. Way too early to gloat or panic.

But I'll be back to gloat when the Reds pass the Cards later in the season, since you seem to enjoy it so much.

It's from an Iowa fanatic, what do you expect?

[cartman]

Neftali Feliz had an outstanding outing in his first start. He was completely different from his fireball closer role he's played the last two seasons. Tonight was primarily offspeed pitches. After the awesome firepower last night, this was a 1-0 win for the Rangers, only the 6th time that has happened since the stadium opened.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Any chance we could get Rex Hudler euthanized in the next month or so? Royals went and replaced a team hall-of-fame guy in the color seat with a guy who sounds like he does every game fully stoned. The latest gem from yesterday:

Lefebre: (talking about past Royals with power numbers) "Chili Davis had 30 homeruns with the Royals several years ago."

Hudler: "Didn't Chili Davis have a cup of coffee with the Royals a few years ago?"

Lefebre: (sounding annoyed) "Yes, he had 30 homeruns with the Royals several years ago."

The guy is a disaster and makes it extremely painful to watch a game with the volume on. I'd be shocked if they keep him past this year.

[cuervo72]

Why is Hudler in KC of all places? I can see when teams use players who played there even if they're not very good (see Matthews, Sarge). Or if a team doesn't have any former players available (Nats and Darling, Dibble). But couldn't they find an ex-Royal?

[TRO]

They had an ex Royal. Frank White. And they fired him. That's why we're the Royals.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Why is Hudler in KC of all places? I can see when teams use players who played there even if they're not very good (see Matthews, Sarge). Or if a team doesn't have any former players available (Nats and Darling, Dibble). But couldn't they find an ex-Royal?

The Royals fans are wondering the same thing. That was a topic of conversation all day on the airwaves today. It's a head-scratcher of a decision to say the least.

[Lathum]

Fuck Fuck Fuckedy Fuck.

5 games in and David Wright breaks his pinkie. I swear to God citifield is built on an indian burial ground.

[molson]

So less than 6 months after Red Sox ownership planted stories with the Boston Globe that Terry Francona was a dangerous and unprofessional pain pill addict, they call him up to invite him to the big 100-year anniversary of Fenway park party. That must have been some call. As far as I can gather, Francona told them to go fuck themselves and he won't be attending.

And you'd have to guess that the odds are, the eventual separation with Bobby Valentine will be even more explosive/entertaining.

Ah, it could have been worse, a lot worse, they almost got stuck with Frank McCourt

[Butter]

Reds avoid the sweep, gathering like 40 hits, but only barely scraping together a 4th run.

Why oh why won't someone in this organization put Chapman in the rotation? Year 3, and he is still a late innings setup man. Trade for bullpen help if you must, but Chapman is being utterly wasted.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Reds avoid the sweep, gathering like 40 hits, but only barely scraping together a 4th run.

Why oh why won't someone in this organization put Chapman in the rotation? Year 3, and he is still a late innings setup man. Trade for bullpen help if you must, but Chapman is being utterly wasted.

If they aren't going to make Chapman a closer, he should be in the rotation. Put Bailey in the pen in long relief where he belongs.

[tarcone]

4 of 6 from the rivals. Good start. Now, bring on the Scrubs.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Why oh why won't someone in this organization put Chapman in the rotation? Year 3, and he is still a late innings setup man. Trade for bullpen help if you must, but Chapman is being utterly wasted.

5ip, 2h, 0bb, 10K's in his brief showing so far. Give the guy a shot for christ sake. They've given Bailey how many opportunities over the years.

[tarcone]

Dusty doesnt trust young guys.

[Butter]

Not really. Leake made the rotation, and he has played Cozart exclusively at SS out of the gate.

It was honestly just bad luck that nearly forced Chapman to the 'pen... we had 5 guys who are used to starting, and a couple of bullpen injuries.

But I have had nearly enough of Homer Bailey. Give the guy another few starts, but if he is still sucking it up at the end of April, something must be done with him. Send him somewhere for a handful of beans and an A-baller. Whatever. He needs to go. Chapman needs to start. But as it is, they are making it very hard for Chapman to make that transition, because as soon as he was stretched out and nearly ready to go, they put him back in the 'pen again. Just frustrating.

[lordscarlet]

Best start for a DC team since 1951. I know its early, but I'm feeling like the Nats are right about where the hype has put them (a chance at a wildcard). The pitching has lived up to their end of the bargain, but the offense scares me.

[Scoobz0202]

Without getting a hit in the inning, the A's score two runs to beat the Royals in the 12th.

:|

[Neuqua]

Cubs stink.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Without getting a hit in the inning, the A's score two runs to beat the Royals in the 12th.

:|

Was pretty painful to watch. 3-3 is a very good start for a 6 game road trip, but the first and last games against the A's both were games that KC really should have nailed down.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by TRO

They had an ex Royal. Frank White. And they fired him. That's why we're the Royals.

To be fair, I didn't really like White. I'm finding I don't really like Hudler either. Physioc seems pretty generic- not good or bad- so that's a decent pickup. It basically means the radio broadcast alternates between Denny Matthews and Phsyioc with Bob Davis doing "the old baseball man" schtick of bringing up old timers names and saying "say, you remember when player X did thing Y". Never mind that Bob Davis is still more about KU basketball and not a really good baseball announcer.

Hudler and Ryan Lefebvre in the tv booth- it's just awkward every time I've listened. You have snarky Ryan and bubbly Rex and it's just a trainwreck. Might want to mix old and young because I think Ryan might just kill Hudler one night in the booth.

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Might want to mix old and young because I think Ryan might just kill Hudler one night in the booth.

This.

You get the impression that one night, you're going to hear the sound of someone being strangled on the mic followed by a black screen that's reporting technical difficulties.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Without getting a hit in the inning, the A's score two runs to beat the Royals in the 12th.

:|

I could be wrong here, but I don't think the Nats hit in any of their runs. A WP and three walks.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Without getting a hit in the inning, the A's score two runs to beat the Royals in the 12th.

:|

Yeah, that sucked: Error, walk, walk, ground out, HBP, HBP

SI

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

To be fair, I didn't really like White. I'm finding I don't really like Hudler either. Physioc seems pretty generic- not good or bad- so that's a decent pickup. It basically means the radio broadcast alternates between Denny Matthews and Phsyioc with Bob Davis doing "the old baseball man" schtick of bringing up old timers names and saying "say, you remember when player X did thing Y". Never mind that Bob Davis is still more about KU basketball and not a really good baseball announcer.

Hudler and Ryan Lefebvre in the tv booth- it's just awkward every time I've listened. You have snarky Ryan and bubbly Rex and it's just a trainwreck. Might want to mix old and young because I think Ryan might just kill Hudler one night in the booth.

SI

Wait, you guys got Physioc AND Hudler? You guys just raiding the Angels for all your broadcasters now? lol...

Physioc is a solid basic broadcaster. Nothing special, decent for PbP. Very forgetful, honestly.

Hudler is definitely an acquired taste. I found that whether I liked him or hated him on any given day depended more on how I felt than his performance. He can be pretty funny and goofy and has a lot of fun stories from his playing days and after. But, yes, he is an oddball, and professionalism isn't exactly at the top of his priority list.

[sterlingice]

I have listened to Angels broadcasts in the past and Hudler can work in the right setting. I just think that pairing him with the sarcastic, dry Lefebvre is a really bad pairing and they have no rhythm at all right now. I'm sure it will get better as they work together more but there are going to be some growing pains.

SI

[Scoobz0202]

I did not know that Hudler was a broadcaster for the Royals now. I've never heard him before. But I was browsing MLB.tv last night and actually watched some of the Royals game because it was close. I actually made a post on another forum asking, " Who is this shitty announcer for the Royals?" Within seconds I had multiple responses and not one person mistakenly thought I was talking about the other guy

[Suicane75]

We should rank broadcast teams. Maybe not. But since I've had the extra innings package I would have to say I really like the Mariners and Rangers crews. Loved the Nats a few years back with Dibble. The Rockies team is fun. Don't much like the Royals or Twins. I hated Jerry Remys voice at first but he and the other guy have a great repoire. Can't stand the Diamondbacks. Enberg in SD and Scully in LA are quite are soothing and majestical. I even like the Dodgers games when Steiner is doing them but I've always liked his voice.

[Scoobz0202]

The Baltimore crew of Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer is really high on my list. The Giants are also in my top 5. Their tv guys are good but Jon Miller on the radio is even better. I think Houston has a good crew, but watching them can be tough.

[Suicane75]

Yes, I like the Orioles too. It's fun when the Nats/Orioles have their interleague series and they mix and mingle the crews up.

Edit: Mets are an enjoyable watch as well. Can't stand the Phillies or Yankees though. Chris Wheeler and Micheal Kay are worse than nails on a chalkboard.

[sterlingice]

Orioles are a quality listen with a couple of big names. I enjoyed flipping to them when I lived in Richmond.

I don't have MLB Network, but is MLB Tonight hitting up the Dodgers every chance they get to broadcast Scully? He's obvious quality.

I have MLB audio so I've heard a lot more radio crews. I seem to remember having favorable impressions of a lot of west coast teams: Miller is great in San Fran tho he's mailing it in a bit more, Anaheim was typically decent, and Seattle struck me as a pretty good crew. I also seem to remember the Rays being good to listen to. The Cubs with Hughes and Santo just sounded like baseball to me but, well, Santo is gone now.

Then again, I haven't listened very much this year including the Royals so I need to make more use of MLB Audio.

SI

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Yes, I like the Orioles too. It's fun when the Nats/Orioles have their interleague series and they mix and mingle the crews up.

Edit: Mets are an enjoyable watch as well. Can't stand the Phillies or Yankees though. Chris Wheeler and Micheal Kay are worse than nails on a chalkboard.

Maybe it is because I grew up watching/listening to the Orioles, but they have always had top notch announcers. I was disappointed when they let Jon Miller go. I always loved listening to Brooks Robinson call games.

[TRO]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

To be fair, I didn't really like White...

Hey, I didn't say White was good, but he had chemistry with Ryan and a real connection to the fans.

If they didn't want to keep White in there, they should have tried a year with Montgomery. Monty was ok at best in his brief tryouts, he just didn't get the reps on air to get comfortable.

Splitt is simply going to be tough to replace.

[TRO]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Wait, you guys got Physioc AND Hudler? You guys just raiding the Angels for all your broadcasters now? lol...

And we DIDN'T get the one with Royals connections - Gubicza. Sigh.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by TRO

And we DIDN'T get the one with Royals connections - Gubicza. Sigh.

Guby is great. I love having him on broadcasts. He also often comes on the local sports talk shows to talk baseball and he is always a good listen.

It was pretty neat last year when the Royals did a Mark Gubicza night when the Angels were in town. I could tell Guby was really touched.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I have MLB audio so I've heard a lot more radio crews. I seem to remember having favorable impressions of a lot of west coast teams: Miller is great in San Fran tho he's mailing it in a bit more, Anaheim was typically decent, and Seattle struck me as a pretty good crew. I also seem to remember the Rays being good to listen to. The Cubs with Hughes and Santo just sounded like baseball to me but, well, Santo is gone now.

The Angels have generally done pretty well with their radio crews in recent years. They have Terry Smith now and he has been doing it for a while. Solid broadcaster who is knowledgeable and understated, perfect for someone who has to handle both PbP and color.

The best radio crew the Angels had was Smith and Rory Markus, who used to end every Angels win with "Just Another Halo Victory!" and was well known to Angels fans for his radio call of Erstad catching the final out in the 2002 series. Unfortunately, Markus passed away last year really young from a heart attack (he was about 50). Smith and Markus used to trade off broadcasting duties mid-game, like Scully and Steiner do.